My grandmother (born in the nineteenth century) apparently told my mother that women needed foundation garments as they don't have the muscular strength to hold their internal organs in place. A self fulfilling prophecy of course, as if you wear a girdle constantly, you will have very weak abdominal muscles.
Conversely, I was once warned - by a qualified pharmacist, no less - that I should be wary of doing crunches because if my abs got too strong, they would crush my internal organs!
(even if that was true, I was in no risk!)